Ordinance on teacher quota among 30 proposals cleared by Cabinet

The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Ordinance, 2019 will provide for reservation considering the university or college as one unit, instead of treating the department or subject as one unit.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal for promulgation of an ordinance to restore the 200-point roster-based reservation system for faculty in higher education institutions.

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The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Ordinance, 2019 will provide for reservation considering the university or college as one unit, instead of treating the department or subject as one unit.

The Cabinet took as many as 30 decisions when it met on Thursday, in what could be its last meeting before the Election Commission announces the dates for the general elections.

In the field of education, the government decided to establish 50 new Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country, most of which will be in areas with a strong presence of paramilitary forces and in districts where Indian Railways employees are posted. The 50 central schools will have a combined strength of 50,000 students.

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For Delhi’s unauthorised colonies, the cabinet agreed to set up a nine-member panel to recommend the process for either conferring or recognising ownership rights or right of transfer or mortgage to the people who live there. The committee will be headed by the Delhi Lieutenant Governor and will have to submit its report in three months.

Among other decisions for the two largest metro cities, the Cabinet approved new phases for urban transport systems in Delhi and Mumbai. While Delhi got the nod for three new Metro corridors in the fourth phase —- a total of 61.7 km —- at a cost of nearly Rs 25,000 crore, the Mumbai Urban Transport Project’s Phase IIIA, to enhance the local train system, was approved at a cost of Rs 30,849 crore.

A new line for South Eastern Railway from Narayangarh in West Bengal to Bhadrak in Odisha was approved. The 155-km line will be built at a cost of Rs 1,886.31 crore.

In the space of infrastructure, thermal and hydro power projects got approvals for establishment, investment or to be taken over by public sector enterprises at Khurja in Uttar Pradesh, Buxar in Bihar, Kiru in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Teesta project in Sikkim.

Helping potentially 43,000 families, the government decided to bring previously excluded sections under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS). The categories of ex-servicemen who will now be eligible include World War II veterans, Emergency Commissioned Officers, Short Service Commissioned Officers and premature retirees. ECHS provides quality medicare to 54 lakh ex-servicemen, pensioners and their dependents.

To increase air mobility, the Cabinet gave its nod to extend till March 2020 the plan to revive and develop unserved and underserved air strips, helipads and water aerodromes, many of which are under state governments, Airports Authority of India, civil enclaves or central public sector units. This is after, under the UDAN scheme, 66 such airports and 31 such heliports were identified in the first two phases.

With an outlay of Rs 6,434 crore, the government will extend the National AIDS Control Programme-IV beyond the 12th Five Year Plan for a period of three years from April 2017 to March 2020.

Other decisions include extension of existing government schemes, flood management work in border areas, and MoUs signed between India and other nations.